Man Faces Charges for Allegedly Helping To Kidnap ‘Crypto King’ After Falling Victim to Scheme: Report

A Toronto investor who allegedly helped kidnap Ontario’s “Crypto King” last December after losing thousands in a scam is facing kidnapping charges in Canada.

According to a new CBC report, Akil Heywood is facing kidnapping, confinement, and assault charges for allegedly kidnapping “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski last December.

Says the fraud recovery lawyer representing some of the investors, Norman Groot,“I’ve never seen a bankruptcy proceeding where an inspector is charged in a kidnapping and a forcible confinement related to recovering money in a bankruptcy…Mr. Heywood would have been privy to the particulars of whatever investigation Grant Thornton was conducting — and the concern always, ‘Is that information going to be used for their own purpose outside of the bankruptcy proceeding?'”

Last year, Aiden Pleterski, who called himself the “Crypto King” of Canada and is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings after allegedly cheating investors, was reportedly abducted and physically assaulted for ransom.

Pleterski is accused of running a scheme that assured investors their funds would be invested in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange positions, but the 24-year-old allegedly only invested $670,000 of the $41.5 million that he received.

Pleterski was allegedly driven around Southern Ontario, beaten and tortured. Pleterski’s landlord corroborates the claim saying he also received a call asking for a ransom.

Less than two weeks before the alleged kidnapping, Pleterski warned interviewers about Heywood during an interview concerning bankruptcy on Nov. 24, 2022.

“Akil [Heywood] is still, by the way, uttering threats, and very dangerous, violent threats, to me over Instagram comment sections and text messages.”

Heywood is thus far claiming innocence, though he declined an interview with the CBC.